


Spirits and Souls

by Firehedgehog



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: FGOD Error, Father-Son Relationships - Freeform, Forced to eat apples, Hope, Underneath, ferality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-01 20:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20264041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Firehedgehog/pseuds/Firehedgehog
Summary: A sans was a Sans, but there was a difference in Spirits and SoulsOriginally only on wattpadUpdates Random





	1. Soul

All Sans were the same being, no matter what AU they came from.

Which is why, if the Classic universe fell all the rest would fall.

Sans were all so different, making some Sans feel an identity crisis when they met there alters.

In spirit they were the same, but in soul they had there own.

That was a relief to Nightmare, who after regaining his sanity after being forced the apples had been curious.

Now Dream and himself shared the same spirit and soul.

Which is why neither would kill the other, because it would be suicide.

Literally.

They were yin to yang of each other, had been since there birth/creation.

Even when driven insane, he'd only turned Dream into stone.

Nightmare sighed trying not to think of the coming conflicts, conflicts between the dark and star Sans.

He hated these battles.

Hated the rage that would overcome him.

The Dark skeleton really wanted to punch Ink into the ground a few times.

He wasn't blind, he saw Ink flirting with Dream in his own soulless way.

No one was good enough for his brother.

Also... the fact was, because in truth they were two halves of a whole.

Whoever got together with one would be with both, because marriage of monsters was a marriage of souls. Children would be born between magic and soul, meaning if Inky and Dream had kids.. the kids would also be his kids.

He shook his head, chasing such thoughts away.

He concentrated on what he had been doing before his thoughts drifted, seeing if he could push the corrupting effects of the apples away.

He grinned, for a split second instead of goopy hands he saw white bones untouched by time.

He wondered, under the corruption was he still a kid.

Now that he had to find out.


	2. Backlash

"**Ow..."** Nightmare moaned, he'd managed to get the reversal of the goop to his elbow.. then got carried away. He'd tried to force it, and had a backlash of a migraine form.

Yet...

He felt tears form in eyes eyes.

For a few minutes, he'd seen familiar clothing.

Clothing he'd thought destroyed when the corrupted apples changed his body.

Sighing, he stared one again stared at the goop covered arm and concentrated ignoring the pain in hie head.

"**It, retreated faster,"** Nightmare said, he allowed himself a loud cheer since the other Dark Sans were all out today.

"**Lets see if i can further,"** Nightmare grinned.

OoOoO

"Dream are you okay?" Blue asked, Dream smiled weakly and did his best to relax.

"Just a weird migraine Blue, I must have been over stressing," Dream responded.

"You take it easy Dream, I'll make a light soup for your dinner," Blue said gently, and closed the door to Dreams rooming leaving him in blessed darkness.

"Nightmare?" Dream whispered, for some reason his twin had felt happy.. a true happy.

He would have pondered more on it, but sleep claimed him.

OoOoO

"**Both arms,"** Nightmare said with glee.

Suddenly his concentration lapsed and his arms went goopy again, as he suddenly felt extremely tired and dizzy.

Blinking he allowed himself to slide onto his bed, his breath uneven.

He stared at the ceiling grinning, he'd never be free of the apples but one day he'd be able to look like himself.


	3. Daily Life of a Dark Sans

Unlike what many thought, the Dark Sans didn't live in a Dark evilish world in a mansion.

They lived on a nice AU no one ever bothered with since nothing ever happened, and there wasn't even a reset.

Nightmare had managed to find a large family home in the country, paid locals to fix it up and rented the farm land out for gold.

Of course they did shied the AU, not wanting Ink or the others to butt in on there relaxing place of residence.

The Living room had a TV so large to die for, actually.. Cross was pretty Dust had killed someone for it.

Game systems a gamer would cry in envy over, and plush chairs one would happily never want to live.

Nightmare that bastard still wasn't saying where he got the chairs.

Let alone that couch.

The place was in darker colours, but nothing like he'd heard the Star sans discussing.

He was amused to see that Killer was asleep on the coach with three cats snoozing on top of him, the three cats were bard cats and weren't suppose to be in the house.

In fact Killer hated those cats with a passion, as when outside when eh came across one they always tried to claw his face off.

Cats, what can you do?

"**You'd think it would wake him up,"** Nightmare said wondering into the room, a bowl of popcorn in his hands and a new video game in hand.

"How do you think they got in?" he asked, he had a feeling he knew.

"**Who knows," **Nightmare said, setting up the game.

"Really?" Cross asked.

"**Really, really,"** Nightmare said smirking.

"Fine, can I have some popcorn?" he asked.

"**Get your own, you always drizzle them with chocolate which I'd rather not have,"** Nightmare said.

"Stingy," Cross pouted, but went to pop some popcorn.

He added double chocolate then usual.

OoOoO

"Did I miss a party?" Horror asked as he and Dust got home, the room had popcorn scattered everywhere with random smears of popcorn.

"Just the cats,"Cross said cleaning up Chocolate.

"**So messy,"** Nightmare moaned pulling out a Vacuum, the goopy being coudl be such a neat freak sometimes.

"What Happened?" Dust asked curious, taking in the paused game.

"YOU BETTER HIDE YOU STUPID CATS! I|M GOING TO BLAST YOU!"

"Ahhh, the cats," Horror said, recognizing the screamers voice.

Nightmare snickered.


	4. A Parents Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By the way, this chapter wrote itself and was never originally suppose to be part of the story. But the Fluff, it had to be >o<

The horse coach rumbled beneath him as the horses moved, the hay crinkling below him. At the moment he was laying on the hay, feeling more relaxed then he had in months.

He took in a deep breath of fresh clean air, the scents of summer drifting around him.

The horses came to a stop with a clatter, kicking up a small bit of dirt.

"Dis the spot," the farmer said, the one having him a ride.

"_**Thanks,"**_ Error said grabbing his bag and jumping from the cart, his slippered feet kicking up a bit of there own dirt.

"Ya sure ya' fine, not many monstahs around here?" the farmer asked, a human wrinkled with age and sun browned.

"_**Don't worry, there expecting me,"**_ Error said and began walking, while he could have created a portal there was something nice about a slow trip.

"Gook luck laddy," the farmer said, clucking his tongue to get the horses moving.

Humming Error began his way up the long pathway to a familiar home, been awhile since he visited between his eternal job hours.

The house was quiet, but he could sense Nightmare in his room with the others who knew where.

"Mew?"

"_**We'll play later,"**_ Error promised the small barn Cat, who had taken a liking to the strange monster who could summon strings to play with.

"Mewwwww.." the cat said dejected, slinking back to where the other cats rested in the shade.

Error loved cats, no one owned Cats they owned you. They went where they wanted, when they wanted.

Too bad the anti-void wasn't cat friendly, or rather friendly for anyone.

Placing his bag on the couch he slipped upstairs, Nightmare had been rather quiet lately and Error was a bit concerned.

Nightmare wasn't an evil person, at least not bu choice.

But his morals were so so, due to the black apples forced on him.

It was never a good sign when Nightmare locked himself away.

Error did not enjoy the past angst moments of the Dark Sans leader.

He stared at the door for a moment, then opened it the lock not even bothering as his magic unlocked it.

"_**Really Nightmare, you could have asked for help,"**_ Error said, taking in the non goopy arms, a leg and unfamiliar purple eyes.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Nightmare protested.

The non corrupted voice wasn't helping his case.

"_**Kid, I found you after went feral from the apples. I pretty much raised you,"**_ Error said, giving his once ward stern eyes.

"**Sorry Dad..." **Nightmare said embarrassed, loosing his concentration and reverting back to his normal goopy self.

"_**No more experimenting unless I'm about, we don't know what type of rebounds this could cause,"**_ Error said, with a no arguing voice.

"**I.. just want to be free, I want to look like myself," **Nightmare whispered, hugging the monster who had dragged him back to sanity, taught him to live again and been the nearest thing to a parent next to his creator.

_ Flashback: After Nightmare escapes his AU _

_Error hadn't expected to come across a clearly feral Sans on a random Au, he winces seeing the monsters corrupted Stats._

_Another Sans forced onto a Dark path._

_Worse, from what he could tell was a kid._

"_Well.. this will be fun," Error said dryly, knowing leaving this to Ink would be stupid._


	5. And I cry Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Woah... i was shocked with how quickly my brain came out with this one.

Despair....

The absence of hope.

When the darkness clawed to far into ones self, and you knew there was no turning back.

He could still feel the memory of the humans ropes, ropes that bound his magic.

There hatred and greed, there murderous hearts.

The taste of the black apples flesh on his tongue, the surprising tangy taste and sticky juice that dribbled down his throat and face as they forced the apples into him.

He's cried and begged.

But no one came.

Dream too far away, led away to help the humans for a few days who were just as greedy as the rest.

He didn't even notice at first when his tears bled black, as he'd gone into shock the only sounds there cruel laughter and his own gasping breaths.

"Who needs a freak like you, all we need is sweet little Dream, so innocent and easy to lead around," the leader sneered, readying another apple.

There were only a few apples still gold, not changed to black by the malice of his captors.

How was his body continuing to intake the apples, he should have become full and gotten sick from it now.

"Dream..." he whimpered.

They forced the latest apple down his throat, and he broke.

OoOoO

Nightmare did not have clear memories of what followed, just that he screamed a scream one hoped never to hear. The humans covered there ears in pain.

The world was blurry around him, but he swore the corrupted influence of the apples bled out of his body.

A body he would soon become to familiar with and too well known by.

The splashes of blood he remembered, knowing that he'd killed them.

Nightmare wasn't exactly in control of his body or metal facilities, once the apples power activated the power itself puppeted his actions.

Nightmare hadn't thought apples could be evil.

He'd gained too many levels that day.

Then Dream returned.

_No... Dream.. no.. I'm sorry..._

The betrayal on his other halves face as took in the dust and blood, his new corrupted body.

The humans of course had told Dream he'd eaten the apples by himself.

How he hated Dream for always falling for there lies.

_Dream.. help.. please.. make it stop..._

In one moment of clarity, he stopped his body from killing Dream.... not that turning him to stone was any better.

He fled.

OoOoO

The sane moments were rare after that, as his mind retreated from the traumas.

There were a few... destroyed Au's while his mind was comatose.

Nightmare didn't know how much time he lost after he left his AU.

After... Dream.

_Dream.. I'm so sorry..._

He was very lucky Error was the one that found him.

He didn't want to think what would have happened if Ink had found him.

He didn't even remember Error knocking his feral self out.

OoOoO

"_**No.. bad Nightmare.. bad!"**_ Error said, and actually sprayed water into the feral Skeletons face.

Nightmare hissed eyes unfocused.

"_**Right... getting him back to sanity not to a good start,"**_ Error said, heck he knew insanity as his job kept him in the anti-void a lot and a few days there would drive anyone around the bend.

He sighed and stared as goopy tentacles wrapped around his left leg, and a certain corrupted Sans tried to gnaw on it.

"_**Food, right knew I was forgetting something,"**_ Error said, not like he had to eat.

OoOoO

It was over a year later.

Nightmare came back to semi-sanity waking from his own name sakes, fearfully hiding in what one could only call a nest of blankets.

He cried and shivered, his throat raw from earlier screaming.

"_**Breath kid,"**_ A voice whispered, he continued to stare blank eyed at the world around him.

Strangely even years later he remembered that moment, touch phobic Error climbing into his nest and gently pulling him on his lap, draping blanket over him. A glitching hand gently ran over his head.

Then, Error sang.

It was a beautiful song, a lullaby that he had a feeling only existed from whatever AU Error originally came from.

Errors voice wasn't glitching.

For the first time since the apples, Nightmare allowed himself to cry.

OoOoO

Things progressed from there, not to say it was easy or he didn't regress in moments.

Error taunt him to live.

Not just survive.

He also learned of the balance, as error still had to do his fate bound duty.

He didn't know why he called Error Dad teh first time.

Or why Error accepted it.

Later he understood, as Errors AU was gone and with it his family.

The next time he called him dad on purpose, he caught his caretaker pretty much parent blush.

Error was such an innocent ins some ways.

He learned to be Happy again.

It took five years for him to leave the Au Error had saved him from a feral state on, but he did it.

He'd lost apparently thirty years since he was forced to eat the apples.

"_**Ready kid,"**_ Error said, after all sooner or later the baby bird left the nest.

"**I was born ready," **Nightmare said with a grin.


	6. The Universe Can be funny...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All Hail Snow-chan for her awesome beta skills. First time i had a beta for this.

"It looks like a flower," Dust said, pointing at said fluffy cloud.

"It's a snowflake," Killer protested.

"_**What exactly is the point of this?"**_ Error asked from under the shade of a tree.

"**I never got it, but Dream loves cloud watching," **Nightmare said from beside him.

"Freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!" Shrieked a black and white blur zooming past.

"_**Was that Cross streaking to the lake?"**_ Error asked.

"**Meh... it's too nice out to stop him,"** said Nightmare, pulling a sandwich out of a picnic basket.

"**Wait... didn't you have like ten AUs to clear today?"** Nightmare asked the older Sans.

Error swore and vanished though a portal

OoOoO

"Error! Stop destroying my creations!" Ink yelled, throwing glowing paint at the destroyer.

"_**Blah blah blah, say something more original,"**_ Error said calmly, dodging the attacks with ease.

"Please, can we at least get along?" Ink begged.

"_**The last time we had a truce it lasted two weeks, then you went crazy creating,"**_ Error said dryly. _**"It wasn't very effective." **_

"I'm sure we can work this out," Ink said using another paint color.

"_**Been there, done that. Got the T-shirt,"**_ Error said, idly catching Dream's arrow.

Smirking, Error snapped his fingers, and in an instant his strings had cocooned the pair of Star Sanses.

"_**See you, don't want to be you. Smell you later,"**_ Error said kicking them through a portal to Outertale.

"_**Fate, is your favourite getting stupider?"**_ Error asked the deity, sighing, before he deleted the AU's code and slipped away.

OoOoO

"That's a lot of string, a giant yarn ball," Outer said, snickering at the tangled duo.

"Outer no," Dream begged, his golden eyelights wide.

"A cat's meow, with Error the cat," Outer joked.

Dream knew that he should've stayed in bed today.

OoOoO

"**A giant ball of string,"** Nightmare said happily, snickering as Error described the hilarious battle in the final AU. At the moment, Nightmare was working on pushing the corruption from his body. He had uncovered both arms, and his left leg looked normal as well.

"_**Your brother was all tangled up, I took pictures through the Codes,"**_ said Error, smirking- who needed cameras when the Multiverse could take screenshots?

"**Gimme,"** Nightmare begged.

Error proudly shared. Nightmare fell over laughing, losing concentration and causing his body to revert to its corrupted form. He didn't even care that he gained a migraine from it, the pictures were just too good.

OoOoO

If this day was anything, it was bad.

Error had curb smacked them without even trying, turning them into a cat toy.

Outer had taken pictures of the event, only releasing them after sending it through the network of Sanses.

Then he'd tripped, landing face first into a wall.

When they had finally gotten back, Ink had decided that the potted plant should talk, and it took him three hours to get the Creator to return it to normal.

No one needed those details from a plant, no matter how natural it was.

Then this- a sudden migraine. Dream suddenly had the urge to strangle Nightmare.

Groaning, he headed to bed.

Maybe tomorrow would make more sense.

Lady Luck flipped her coin and laughed.

OoOoO

"**The night sky is beautiful,"** Nightmare whispered.

He and Error were laying in the gently swaying tall grass of the hay fields. The night sky was a deep midnight blue, the only lights the distant stars and a shining crescent moon.

"_**Perfection,"**_ Error replied. There was not a single cloud blocking their view of the stars, and the moonlight cast everything in a silvery hue.

"**Could... you sing for me?"** Nightmare asked softly, he hadn't heard Error sing since he was partly feral still.

The glitchy skeleton obliged, singing a gentle lullaby from his long-lost AU. He filled the night air with his gentle voice, soothing both of their souls.


	7. Clothes make the monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again that Snow for her wonderful Beta work

It had to be a dream, the reflection looking back was one that was familiar, yet unfamiliar.

It had been over 500 years since he had seen his true face.

Magic tainted tears slipped down his white bones.

White and pure, not dark or slimy in the slightest.

Slim hands reached up to touch the crescent headgear, to think that all of this had been under the corruption, for all those years. He brushed a hand over his old clothing and the soft fabric, woven with charms and enchantments, warmed under his touch. It was nice, far more pleasant than the goopy clothing his magic had manifested to cover him when the apples took over.

“_**You’re still a kid,”**_ Error teased, running a gentle hand over Nightmare’s skull. 

“Hey,” said Nightmare, pouting, but that only made Error grin.

“I… want to go outside, walk outside as me,” Nightmare said, his purple eyelights bright. “I want to feel the actual sharding sun for once!”

“_**You can’t go out as yourself, I’m pretty sure you’re not ready for the Star Sanses to spot you,”**_ said Error as he began to pull fabric through a portal. 

“I’m... not ready to meet Dream like this,” Nightmare said softly, it was strange to think that while he was still a child, Dream looked and was an adult.

“_**Go relax, I’ll figure something put,”**_ Error smirked. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Nightmare said, and instead of wandering off, he leaned against his father figure happily. He didn’t even feel himself fall asleep.

OoOoO

Error paused in his sewing as the weight at his side increased. Blinking, he looked to see that Nightmare had fallen asleep, but was still maintaining his true form.

“_**Sleep tight, son,”**_ Error whispered, pulling a blanket over the leader of the Dark Sans.

He began singing a soft lullaby, one he had sung to his Papyrus, all those centuries ago, before Fate forced him onto a different path.

OoOoO

Dream felt like he was missing something important, it was nagging on his mind.

The oven wasn’t on, he’d already checked that.

It was annoying.

Ink snoozed on the couch, a half-full bowl of popcorn in his arms.

This feeling had been going on for hours.

He grumbled and walked through the base, trying to figure what it was.

This had Nightmare written all over it, but his twin’s signature emotions blocked Dream from sensing whatever dark AU he hid in.

“Damn it Nightmare, just do something already!” Dream shouted, frustrated.

“The answer is 42!” shouted Ink, waking up startled by Dreams yell. As the ink-stained skeleton jumped to his feet, the bowl of popcorn went flying. Kernels flew everywhere, Dream already knew that would __not__ be fun to clean up. 

“Ink... why,” Dream whispered.

“Ha ha ha... gotta go. Sorry,” said Ink, laughing nervously. He fled through a portal, probably to go take a nap in some other AU.

The bowl had also landed on top of Dreams head.

OoOoO

Nightmare came to with a yawn, his form surrounded by one of Errors oh-so-comfy blankets.

He swore these blankets were made to sin, so perfect with hints of Error’s magic still in the threads.

After all, Error had made them.

He grinned when he raised his arms, seeing white bone still.

Unlike before, he wasn’t tired keeping this form, maybe he’d been so tired before because it had been an incomplete transformation. He wondered how long he could keep this form, because he had very much missed being like this.

Heck, he wondered how the other Dark Sans would react.

‘Wait, where’s Error?’ he thought after a moment, he’d been leaning against the other when he fell asleep.

“Dad?” he called, slowly climbing out of his blanket cocoon.

“_**I’m coming,”**_ Error said from the small private bathroom, and a few moments later, the glitchy skeleton exited. 

“Uhhh...” Nightmare said, his eyelights wide from shock, that was __not__ normal. 

Error looked like a Dreamswap Error, and appeared to be the same age as Nightmare himself.

“How?” he said in disbelief.

“_**I can’t take my original form back due to Fate, but I can adjust my own code to a point,”**_ Error smirked, his voice sounding younger and slightly less glitchy, matching how a DS!Error spoke.

“That’s cool, wait, what am I wearing!” Nightmare said in excitement, right before he fell back onto the blanket as clothes hit him in the face.

“Ohh... Dreamswap Nightmare clothing,” he said gleefully before running to the bathroom to try them on.

OoOoO

t was strange. There didn’t seem to be very much of a difference between himself and his DreamSwap counterpart, but the new clothes somehow made him look like a whole other person.

“Let’s get this rodeo moving,” he said happily.

“Aw... can I hug you first,” asked a voice sadly. The two skeletons turned to see the rest of the gang gathered in the doorway, staring in.

“I knew we forgot something,” said Error, humming quietly.

Nightmare couldn’t help but laugh, he had a feeling he’d be waiting a few more days to head out at this rate.

He had kind of luck after all.


End file.
